Hay crushing roll



G. 1.. SHORNER HAY cnusnme ROLL,

Filed Sept. 12. 1962 May 11, 1965 r/ZlG/P azwzclar J07 ZUW/IZIS United States Patent 3,182,378 HAY CRUSHIN G ROLL George L. Shorner, 1928 N. Kedvale Ave., Chicago, Ill. Filed Sept. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 223,144 1 Claim. (Cl. 29125) This invention relates to a hay crushing roll, and, more particularly, to a novel covering or surface-providing device useful in connection with hay crushing machinery.

In the cutting of hay, it has been found advantageous to crush the same so as to reduce the drying time, whereby valuable nutrients may be conserved. Ordinarily, this is done by introducing cut hay into the nip defined by a pair of crushing rolls conventionally sized with and 8" outside diameters. The rolls themselves may be about 12 feet long, and heretofore the rolls have been provided with rubber coverings provided directly on the roll shaft or mandrel. In some instances, the rubber has been provided in the form of a plurality of discs arranged in sideby-side relation on the shaft.

Irrespective of the initial form in which the rolls are presented, there has been posed a difficult problem in the replacement or rehabilitation of the crushing surfaces. The life of a crushing surface depends, of course, on the care employed, but even under controlled conditions, debris is picked up to cut and damage the surfaces. When this occurs, it has been necessary to discard the entire roll, including the valuable metal shaft, or to go through the laborious procedure of installing individual discs, attempting to get the same properly aligned.

These difficulties are avoided through the instant invention, and the provision of an easily-installable rollsurfacing unit thus constitutes an important object of the invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a replacement covering unit for a hay crusher roll characterized by advantageous dimensional stability, whereby a hay crushing machine is expeditiously rehabilitated with minimal expenditure of time and money. Here, it will be appreciated that with the prior art techniques, it is neces sary to take the machine out of service for some time, and where the hay crushing rolls were provided as part of a larger machine, this meant that a number of important functions had to be postponed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hay crusher roll covering unit and the method of fabrication and operation thereof wherein a tubular, generally rectangular core is equipped with a plurality of nylon thread, impregnated rubber discs mounted on the core to provide end extensions on the core so that additional discs may be interposed between adjacent cores to develop an advantageous gasketing action.

Other objects and advantages of the invention may be seen in the details of construction and operation set down in this specification.

The invention is shown in connection with an illustrative embodiment in the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partially broken away and partially in section, of the hay crushing rolls with which the instant invention is concerned;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of one of the rolls of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the discs applied to the rolls of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, partially broken away, of the tubular core employed with the inventive rolls; and

FIG. 6 is an elevational view showing a spring locking ring in the process of application to the tubular core of FIG. 5.

In the illustration given and with particular reference to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 designates generally a first crushing roll which may be the above-mentioned 8" diameter roll, while the numeral 11 generally designates the companion smaller crushing roll, i.e., having an CD. of 5". Each roll includes an elongated shaft, 12 and 13, respectively, having a square (generally rectangular) cross section equipped with a cylindrical journal as at 14 and 15. Suitable means (not shown) are employed for rotating the rolls to effect the crushing operation.

In FIG. 3, parts of two individual roll sections generally designated 16 of the crushing roll 10 or 11, as the case may be, are seen, and further each section 16 includes a square cross section core 17 which projects at the ends of the unit. Thus, the tubular core 1'7 may be provided as a series of end-to-end elements.

For example, one embodiment of the invention may have the hollow tubular core of a length of 17", while the rubber covering generally designated 18 extends over a length of 16 /2". Thus, the core projects A at each end of the section 16 and, in the installation where a plurality of such sections 16 are installed end-to-end, I also install an additional disc 19 at each end. Since the discs have a thickness of /2", there is provided a buffer or gasket between the ends of the adjacent cores 1].

The discs 19 are held in place by a split ring 20 mounted in corner recesses 21 provided in the core 17.

As a specific example of the invention, and for a 5" diameter roll section, I make use of 11 gauge hot rolled electric welded tubing, with the flash removed to 0.005. The discs 19 are virgin rubber impregnated with nylon threads and then cured, obtained from the Konenta Rubber Company, of Wapakentona, Ohio, these being portions of uncured rejected tire carcasses. The discs are characterized by relatively slight compressibility because of the nylon impregnation, and the discs are held in place through the use of a split ring construction obtained from the Eaton Manufacturing Company, of Massillon, Ohio, product designation XAN 325.

After the discs are installed, the discs, when initially provided having a diameter of about 5%", the same are machined down to a uniform diameter of 5". At this point, if desired, spiral groves designated 22 may be formed in the section 16.

For installation, it is only necessary to ensleeve the cores 17 on the square shafts 12 or 13, as the case may be, utilizing two discs 19 between each adjacent section 16. If desired, Pliob-ond glue, provided by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, may be employed to cause the spacer discs 19 to adhere to each other and to the adjacent section 16.

It will be seen that the discs 19 are each centrally apertured to provide a generally rectangular opening corresponding dimensionally to that provided by the core 17. Through the use of the polyamide-impregnated virgin rubber that has been cured there is developed an advantageous strengthening at the corners of the disc opening whereby the discs are capable of resisting the rupturing forces to which the rolls are subjected.

While in the foregoing specification a detailed description of an embodiment of the invention has been set down for the purpose of explanation thereof, many variations in the details herein given may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

A hay crusher roll, comprising an elongated shaft having a general rectangular cross section and having cylindrical journals at the ends thereof, a plurality of generally rectangular tubular elements ensleeved on said shaft in endato-end relation between said journals and providing four elongated corners, each element being equipped With a plurality of annular discs of tire carcass material, each disc having a generally rectangular central opening conforming to its associated element, each element being notched in the corners thereof adjacent each end, and a split ring mounted in the notches of each element to confine said discs, whereby the disc assembled on each element may be machined into a cylindrical shape prior to use and While in place on said element, two additional discs being'm-ounted on said shaft between confronting ends of the end discs on adjacent tubular elements.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 905,562 12/08 Munzesheirner. 2,801,461 8/57 Kusters 29125 5 3,008,220 11/61 Sammarco 29-125 X 3,054,163 9/62 Lakin 29-125 FOREIGN PATENTS 525,302 5/55 Italy.

77,011 6/ 17 Switzerland.

\VALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner.

J. D. BEIN, Examiner. 

